The weather here in Melbourne has been diabolical of late. One day it is so hot and humid you’d think you were living on the beaches of Thailand (if only!), then the next a cool change comes in and we are pelted with hail, temperatures of 12 degrees celsius and flooding streets! If there is one thing the weather of the last month has taught me, it is always be prepared.  Prepare for an onslaught of air-conditioning, makeup melting off your face, then the drying heat of the Australian sun.

My secret for keeping both my makeup intact and my skin well hydrated is the constant use of a facial mist. Not simply a bit of a water spritz, but a multi vitamin spritz that smells amazing, wakes up my face, sets and re-sets my makeup as well as giving me a veil of delicate fragrance to sleep in.

Their are two products always on hand at home and in my handbag so I’m sharing them with you to help you keep the melting heat or drying winter conditions at bay.

Steal 

The Face Shop, Pure Water Facial Mist. RRP $9.99

This comes in a few different fragrance choices including a fresh ocean type scent. I’ve chosen Jeju Flower which is light and refreshing. It comes in a 70ml plastic spritz bottle, so it meets the standards for carry on luggage at under 100ml. The packaging is light and slender so it doesn’t add unnecessary weight to your handbag.

Ingredients list: (I’m including this as I know many readers have various allergies to products and I believe it is important to make informed choices)

water, butylene glycol, honeysuckle extract, rapeseed extract, glycerin, alcohol denat, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, octyldodecth-16, peg-60, hydrogenated castor oil, ppg-26-buteth-26, peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, ethylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, disodium edta, fragrance.

Splurge

Vani-T Energizing Multi Vitamin Facial Spritz RRP $33.50

Housed in a brushed aluminium canister, this bottle comes in a bit bigger at 100ml, just making the cut for carry on liquids on flights. The canister helps to protect the contents from light which could cause quicker degeneration, and does stop it from heating up in your bag as quickly as its plastic counter part.

The mist itself is divine! Fragranced with Damascas Rose, it quickly become addictive for me and I find myself spraying morning noon and night.

Ingredients list:

Water, polysorbate 20, glycerin, aloe vera leaf extract, vitamin B, Vitamin C, rose damascena flower oil, lemon myrtyle leaf oil, lactic acid, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, benzyl alcohol, citral, eugenol, geranoil, linalool.

Verdict

If I had to choose between the two the Vani-T Multivitamin mist is my favourite, but I save it for my face and décolletage. I find myself using The Face Shop alternative more on my body for a quick refresh as it doesn’t have the same nourishing ingredients as the Vani-T Mist.  If you are looking for that quick pick me up that has the added advantage of nourishing and hydrating your skin, I really recommend trying the Vani-T mist for a handbag must have.

The people at Nvey Eco recently sent me their new eye palette to test and review. Nvey Eco cosmetics are made with 100% certified organic ingredients, a blend of plant and mineral, to create a product that is pure and gentle. They are also a locally produced, Melbourne brand! For me as a makeup artist, it is a must to have alternatives that work for clients with sensitive skin or certain ingredient allergies.  These palettes come in three different colour combinations and the one I tried out for this tutorials was a mix of earthy neutrals in lighter to darker shades, as well as a mid tone purple.

Results and verdict:

The pallete is nicely presented with an easy to use mirror in a long ‘landscape’ format.

The colour range creates a good variety of looks and applies smoothly.

I found the pigment to be less intense than I like meaning I had to use much more shadow than I usually would to get the intensity I desired.

I found blending these colours took more time to achieve as they didn’t seem to have the same ‘spread’ that many of my non mineral options do.

Products Used:

Eyes-

Nvey Eco eye Pallette.

Maybelline Falsies mascara in black

Prestige brow mascara in clear

Lips-

Liner by David Jones in Cinnamon

Models Prefer lipstick in City Chic

Bourjois – Effect 3D lipgloss in shade 23

Lip brush by Missha

The colour wore very well, lasting all day without separating or settling into lines.

Overall a good option for complimentary colour combinations, wear and the benefit of knowing that I have a safe and eco friendly option available to my clients.

A full list of Nvey Eco stockist can be found here.

*This is a Nuffnang sponsored post. Courtesy of Vodafone*

**For the latest Super Kawaii Mama post, simply scroll down!**

Images – The June image from my Some Fancy Ladies™ 2012 calendar in my portfolio, The cute matching iPad and iPhone cases, my page of temptation on Pinterest.

For someone who is in many way, so very vintage (and that’s not a reference to my age wink), I’m such a high tech kind of girl. I love my auto coffee machines, my bread makers, my massage machines, iphone and just about anything that makes life simpler, easier, smaller to pack more in and simply just more fun.

Being that so much of the work I do is sitting here in front of this computer screen, it has kind of taken away so much of the fun I used to have just wandering round the internet; and now I find that when I sit down at the keypad I feel compelled to work. I just wasn’t getting anywhere near enough down time.  Then I got myself an iPad and it’s totally changed the way I work and relax. Thanks to Vodafone, I’ve been given the opportunity to review the latest iPad and see just what it can do for me.

Being small enough to carry around, it is the perfect thing for working away from home, but it has also replaced my Sunday morning newspaper and is the perfect way to catch up on my favorite blogs in my RSS reader. It comes with me everywhere and acts as a portfolio, a publishing platform, a productivity tool and the perfect playmate. Here are…

My Top 7 Must Have FREE iPad Apps

1. Wunderlist – Without a doubt, the best app I’ve used for making and sharing simple lists.  I’ve tried a number of them and they usually have too many confusing features and not the ones I actually use.  I keep track of my work, to do’s, ideas, plans, shopping… basically every thought I need to track ends up in here and it has increased my daily productivity immensely!
2. BlogPress – I used to lug my laptop around when I was travelling, always worried something would happen to it.  When I discovered how simple it was to shoot, write and publish new blog posts with Blogpress, my laptop now only comes on long haul trips.  I’ll admit, I was a bit suspicious of this app because I didn’t believe it could be that simple – but it is!
3. Instagram -  Kind of like Twitter but with images instead.  All the cool filters make just about any ordinary thing look 10 times cooler, and its loads of fun to see windows into other peoples world all across the globe.
4. Pinterest – WARNING Highly Addictive! Pinterest is like a virtual scrap book pinboard. You find images you like anywhere on the web, click to pin them and add them to your categorized virtual pin boards.  They retain the link of where they came from so when you start exploring other peoples beautiful inspiration boards, it opens up a whole new world of great new blogs and sites you’ve never visited before.
5. 8mm – Simple app to film your videos from you iPad camera with awesome retro effects. Want to star in your own 70’s style action flick? You need 8mm!
6. Handy Convert – This isn’t fancy. No flash graphics of bells and whistles, but when you’re standing at the fabric counter, vintage pattern in hand, not knowing how to convert metric to imperial, this is a life saver! It does all kinds of conversions from food measures, to areas and temperatures.
7. Westfield app – Surprisingly I don’t use a lot of fashion aps. I find most of them less than inspiring. But because my local shopping mall is a Westfield, this one is super handy. Being short on time, the more I can plan my attack the better. This app allows me to live track available parking, best locations, stores, specials, floor plans… basically I can turn my shopping into a military attack on bargains.

This Christmas, Vodafone have a range of iPads and other tablets available with the added bonus of paying nothing upfront! No opening payments, nothing, nada, zero. You simply choose the right tablet for you, figure out how much data you think you’ll use and get yourself the right plan. That way, it is the Christmas gift that keeps giving all year and doesn’t kill your hip pocket.

They come in the most fabulous array of colours, but if you like to go all matchy matchy the way I do, I’ve treated myself to a matching iPad case, phone case, wallet and passport carrier from Forever New. They look so cute together. The 10 hour battery life has been excellent for me, because I’m often faced with long periods of time away from power outlets when travelling, especially on those road trips.

The brightness of the screen has been another great feature that I hadn’t really considered until this summer, when it is wonderful to be able to work outside, but the old laptop screens just don’t cope with how bright our sun can be. The iPad on the other hand, is bright enough that I can sit under a tree, relaxing in the breeze and comfortably read away without getting nasty squint wrinkles.

You can find out more about Vodafone’s offer and the range of different tablet plans available here, and should you have any questions about how they work or other peoples experiences with them, check out the Vodafone community page.  Thanks Vodafone for giving me the opportunity to improve not only my working day, but my kicking back time.

Attempting to look composed whilst reading this hysterical piece in public.

You know I’m not really one for writing about parenting on this blog, after all, I think some of my techniques may be a bit suspect. However, today is an exception because this is something you should all know about whether you have kids of your own or not. We all know someone with children or someone who wants to have them, and giving them a copy of this book may be the best thing you ever do for them.  In fact, it is so good that you may find yourself written into their Will / given a holiday home/ keys to the city.

Dr. Madeline Hamilton became a friend of mine after writing her book Our Girls about Australian Pinups in WW2, so it was with surprise that I first began to read her blog about being a Mother; Sh*t On My Hands. Now Madeline and her co-author Bunny have combined their observations and experiences to bring you this gem of a book. When I first opened this up and began to read, it was like that moment in indian Jones when they open the Arc of the Covenant. All gobsmacked revelation, awe and joy / horror shared.  This is the book that I wish I had been given before I had kids, the book you should give others planning to take the plunge.

In fact, you can read one of my own tales of sh*tful woe here on Madeline’s blog.

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It revels in the joy of parenthood, but pulls no punches when it comes to giving you the frustrating, maddening, hysterical truth of it all.  If you think that having kids will be all about how to decorate the nursery, what type of eco friendly brand nappies you need and which school of parenting your style will spring from – You.Need.This.Book!

Handbag sized, this is perfect for taking anyway and reading on the go. The stories will have you laughing until the tears run down your legs, so I warn you to be prepared. To top all that off, the book is beautifully presented with a gorgeous array of vintage baby advertisements that make the dreamy romance of the situation all too clear in juxtaposition to the reality.

You can get your copy of Sh*t On My Hands from Arcade Publications as either a hard copy of ebook, and from good book sellers all over the country. I think I’m going to order a box of these in bulk and send them to every new mum, expectant parent and clucky friend. You’ll thank me later.

Occasionally, only once in a while, an album comes along that is everything you dreamed of and more.  An album that gives you the familiar rush of a teenage fan who plays each track over and over, never tiring of the sound.  That album for me is the latest offering from Nico Duportal and his Rhthym Dudes – “Going Back to Ya”.

A good friend of mine introduced me to Nico’s sound via a phone conversation, where his enthusiasm was so strong that he sat and attempted to play me several tracks over the phone. Now while the sound quality was lacking with this method, it did nothing to dull the passion in his voice. As he said to me, “You know when music just makes your heart sing?”  and I sure did.

Since getting my hands on a copy of this album two months ago, it it a rare day that I have not listened to it or at least one track. I can honestly say that it is simply impossible for me to pick a favourite tune. Every time I think I’ve landed on one, the next one comes around and I’m torn.  Nico’s sound (in very technical music terms), is to die for!  His voice is rich, lush, gritty and has a hefty does of ‘come hither’ mixed in. A sound known to my friends and I as “swoon worthy”. Officially you’d have to categorise the sound as Jump Blues or more commonly, Blues (but I like mine better).

The recording quality of the album is spot on for the feel of both the era and the mood. That wonderful, less than perfect sound you’ll remember from 1950′s produced vinyl albums. It’s funny because when I hear this album on my all too modern iPod, all I can see in my head is a great black and white, lo-fi clip of girls screaming for their idol. It’s that kind of good.

Here is who should buy this album- Guys who want to get a girl into their arms for a dance then a drink afterwards, Girls who like to sing in their cars, Babyboomers who want to remember their heyday, Aspiring blues singers who want to hear from a modern artist just how its done, Women who want the perfect soundtrack to their 50′s fantasies, Musicians for the appreciation and anyone who thinks that music these days has gone to the dogs.